CCMB Press Release January 30, 2009
January 30, 2009Lake Superior Coastline Quarry Goes to the OMB
The longest section of wilderness coastline on any of the Great Lakes
is being threatened by the proposed development of a rock quarry right on the
coast.
Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world, has a 300 km section of
coastline with a National Park, 3 Provincial Parks and 2 Conservation
Reserves. Right in the middle, near Wawa, a Michigan-based
highway construction company wants to operate a quarry within 60 m of
the coast, with the product shipped across the Great Lakes for highway construction in
the U.S.
"The Lake Superior shoreline has an iconic status in Ontario and in
Canada as a premier tourism destination for those wanting a Great
Lakes wilderness experience. For outdoor recreation activities like canoeing and
kayaking, this coastline is unique in North America, if not in the world." said Joel Cooper,
a long-time resident Wawa resident. "This section of Lake Superior shoreline is also
home to Peregrine Falcon nesting sites and Woodland Caribou."
A group of local residents - Citizens Concerned for Michipicoten Bay
(CCMB) - has been reviewing the proposed quarry plans and
the necessary official plan amendment and re-zoning of the area by the Municipality of
Wawa. CCMB has appealed the quarry licence and the planning approvals to the
Ontario Municipal Board (OMB).
There was an OMB Pre-Hearing in Wawa on December 17, 2008 to review a
preliminary list of issues. The OMB instructed the representatives from all the parties -
Municipality of Wawa, the applicant Superior Aggregates Company (SAC) and the
CCMB- to meet again by teleconference on January 30, 2009 to agree on a final list of
issues.
The list of issues as proposed by CCMB includes the following:
• Would the proposed quarry, a this particular site on the Lake Superior coast, represent good planning, in the light of the provincial, national and international significance of Lake Superior and its coastline?
• Would the quarry comply as required with the Ontario Provincial Policy Statement for land use planning, and with the Municipality’s Official Plan?
• Would the quarry be compatible with existing residential and tourism uses on Michipicoten Bay, in terms of visual, noise, and lighting impacts?
• Has the applicant demonstrated that the quarry will not have adverse effects on ground and surface waters?
SAC, the quarry proponent, is owned by the Carlo Companies, a Detroit area-based
construction group. SAC owns 386 ha of land along a 2 km section of Michipicoten Bay
on Lake Superior.
The Citizens Concerned for Michipicoten Bay (ccmb.ca) are a group of
Wawa area residents with supporters throughout Ontario, Canada and the
United States who care about what happens to Lake Superior.
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